I'm in industrial design, last year. My talents are mostly in research rather than delivery. I keep being told that my skills and interests align more with design engineering which is frustrating because I went through many difficulties in my bc as it's a finishing based curriculum, without knowing design engineering was even a thing. Anyways, my gpa is too low for a masters. Any way to bank on my research and analysis talents? Can I as an industrial designer directly get hired for concept development and such without a masters? If so surely my portfolio would be something other than renderings and style(which i'm very bad at) and more something to highlight the research?

Hey so I have been looking into industrial design a lot lately, I have understood what it teaches and thought that might be good for getting a job for theme park design or engineering, can anyone share any thoughts?

I'm currently studying industrial design BA and considering switching to product design engineering BSc, how different are the jobs for these 2 majors?

Hello everyone. I just wanted to pour my heart out because the guilt is killing me. Back in 2022, when I was a third-year university student, I started working part-time at a high-end furniture company where I did my internship. After graduation, I worked there for another six months, but I hate furnitures. I wanted to move to a more innovative, user-experience-focused field. However, my portfolio wasn't complete because I wasn’t satisfied with it, so I never applied for new jobs—I kept postponing it. I don't like my third and fourth-year projects and want to create new individual projects to add to my portfolio.

Then a friend of mine told me there was an opening for a visual communication designer position at a home appliances company. I got in through a reference without a portfolio. They don't manufacture products; they import from China and sell here, so there's no product design department that i can transfer to. I've been appreciated as a visual communication designer at this company and now earn a good salary. But this company is a little old-fashioned, and not modern. So even if i stay in visual communication design, i still need to apply for new jobs in this field.

I want to be an industrial designer, but it's been 1.5 years since I graduated, i'm 25 y.o and I still don't have experience in the field. Just generic things like teamwork, team-leading, problem-solving etc, typical business life things.

In short, I can't transition to industrial design just because I haven't made my portfolio. How can I get out of this situation? Or should I accept being a visual communication designer instead?

Hi! I’m considering between Parsons (product design) and USC Roski (BFA design) for first-year undergrad, and I am pretty conflicted between the two. 

I grew up in California and absolutely love it here, but I also went to visit Parsons over the summer and really liked it. My ideal college experience is to have the social and “college experience” aspects of USC with the great design education/connections from Parsons.

Here are some of the pros and cons of each option listed out below. Some are kinda conflicting but that's also because I’m conflicted lol. 

USC Pros:

• Location: sunny LA, lively city, close to family, friends, familiar (I grew up in California)
• Large school/not just an art school: I can meet all kinds of different people take other classes 
• “College experience”: school spirit, sports, diversity, party culture, etc
• Campus: Parson’s doesn’t have a campus and I feel like I would feel less isolated with an actual physical campus

USC Cons:

• Not an art-focused school: may not get as good education, opportunities, or internships as Parsons (which is really important to me)
• I heard the tuition is crazy expensive… like 90K, but also heard they give out great scholarships and financial aid so idk

Parsons Pros:

• Art focused school: lots of funding toward design facilities, I’ll be surrounded by people who enjoy art and design like me
• Good connections in the art and design field which I can use to further my career and eventually find a job
• Great art and design education
• Location: New York City kinda speaks for itself, but its especially important here since there are so many amazing art and design museums (MET, Moma, Guggenheim, etc) and theres such a great art culture

Parsons Cons:

• Small school, all art-inclined students
• Not typical college experience (lacking in sports/school spirit culture)
• I heard the tuition and housing here is also crazy expensive, and they don’t give out as much financial aid as USC
• No campus: I literally know absolutely no one in NYC. Especially since it’ll be my first year away from home and living alone, I feel like I could be easily isolated without an actual campus which will be really difficult for me.

Ultimately, New York is a great city with so many things to do and opportunities. I know that the East Coast is generally better for art and design (with other great schools like Pratt, RISD, etc). However, I do see myself eventually moving back to California. If I make all these connections in New York, would that be a waste if I decide to move back to California? On the other hand, am I limiting myself by not taking a risk and going to New York?

Please share your thoughts and advice!!

Does anyone who is successfully freelancing or in a business development role at an agency have any advice on books, tactics, or mindsets that really helped you excel at selling design work?

I'm thinking more about nurturing a relationship and closing work with a prospective client, but advice on lead generation is welcome as well.

Hey guys im a year 3 industrial design student I have started preparing my portfolio I wanna get into design studios like Norman cophengeun, layers, etc so these are my target goals can you guys give me any advice on improving my portfolio and building according that I can get into such kind of design studios

Hi, as a recently established freelance industrial designer in Italy, I'm seeking guidance on appropriate pricing for interior furniture design projects, specifically for items like lamps or chairs. Counting that the payment would be project fee + royalties for a few years.

what i offer to the client is:

- A patented project (not always needed)

- 2D Technical Drawings

- 3D CAD Model

- 3D Renderings

- 3D printed prototype (scaled down or 1:1)

- Comprehensive Project Presentation: This includes a defined color palette, suggested environments for the furniture's use, and a target market analysis.

Because i am a Designer and not an Engineer hardly what i produce is ready for production and some work with the company is still required.

So, any ideas on pricing for this? I'm kinda lost on how to figure out what to charge, especially the project fee and royalties. Any advice on negotiating these terms with clients would also be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

I’m a Master of Architecture student and am currently considering possible career paths. I definitely want to at least get my license, but after that I’m not sure if I want to spend the rest of my life in A/E/C. I’ve always been interested in industrial design, with some of my favorite architects in being both architects and industrial designers. I think industrial design would be really cool to pivot to at some point, so if anyone has made the jump successfully or knows someone who has please let me know the story.

Hello! I made some posts here late last year about school applications and sketching. I REALLLLLY badly want to get into Carelton’s ID program. It has been my dream program ever since I learned about it.

That being said, I’m really struggling to find resources for application portfolios that are for applying to school, not jobs. There are plenty of portfolio reviews online for graduates. As much as they are still helpful, what universities are looking for is much different (at least in my opinion) and all I can find online are the example portfolios listed on the uni website.

I would be beyond grateful if anyone would be willing to share the portfolios they used to get into industrial design school, or even just share what they suggest for success. I’ve already signed up for the portfolio review online and am attending the in person meeting for the Carelton engineering and design section.

So far, I’ve compiled the majority of my projects which include:

-Metalwork (Mig/Tig/torch welding, sheet metal folding) -Woodwork (cutting wood, glueing, sanding/finishing) -prototyping with cutting purple foam -In depth CAD modelling (solid edge) with draft diagrams -Keyshot renders -3D prints with assembled parts -prototype sketching (pen with alcohol marker on paper, digital) -Digital painting using Krita -3D scene building and surface modelling in Blender with renders

• Lino-cut printmaking and custom bag construction (for the print)

There’s more that I’m not sure I’ll end up including as well. (Watercolour paintings, anatomical sketching, etc.)

All my product pieces have a decent amount of ideation/concept sketching with progress photos as well.

I know this is a lot to read but I really appreciate any support I can get here. I plan on posting the final result on here once things are more put in place but I think I will hold off on that until after my portfolio review.

Thanks for reading until the end:)!

I’m struggling to make the jump from Junior Designer to Mid-level Designer. I get interviews left and right but I never seem to make it past HR or hiring director. It’s always because I don’t have enough experience, but I feel very capable of the job.

I think it might be that I’m not showcasing my skills in the best way, so I’m hoping to review my portfolio, resume, and interview skills to make sure that I look the best that I can.

Because of that, I’m looking for someone (ideally in toys), who is a mid-level designer or higher, that is willing to meet with me on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I would be willing to pay as well.

Or if you know of someone in your network who might be willing to help that I could reach out to on LinkedIn, feel free to dm me and name drop :)

Thanks in Advance!

Hi, I'm making a comedic animated film focused on exploring the different aspects of design in day to day life. If you wouldn't mind filling out this short survey about your experiences, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wf8yE3hHKRLop2ZLueW1C-5pJlA3TK2ZzJSVInW8I2k/edit?usp=drivesdk

Seems like a gravity sketch for ipad but like seems a bit more intuitive from what I can see but I don't know. Has anyone tried it?

Hello everyone! I am working on my thesis about the use of Artificial Intelligence as a tool for rendering. I have created a short survey to collect opinions and useful data from professionals in the field. It only takes a couple of minutes to complete, and I would be immensely grateful to anyone willing to participate.

If you have a moment, I invite you to fill it out:

https://forms.gle/FWYVbA2AnaN82PDp7

Thank you so much for your support!

Heyo,

I'm a mid-level industrial designer who has been working in industry for almost 4 years. I'm lucky to be working for a company that offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to types of products (both softgood and hardgood consumer products). I'm becoming the defacto hardgoods designer, however, because I'm one of the few people who can model.

My sketching/ideation skills are great, but I'd say my 3D modeling skills are moderate at best. I can whip up functional models for printing purposes quickly, but when it comes to cleanly-built parametric and/or Class-A surface models, I'd like to level up.

I've been working primarily in Solidworks, Fusion, Rhino, and Blender for rendering (company isn't willing to invest in Keyshot right now). Rhino has been quite intuitive for me - Solidworks, not as much. Fortunately, my company has given me some training $ to take whatever courses/help I need to level up.

I've taken a few masterclasses already (Cademy, Udemy, etc.) but am looking for any other advice to level up my 3D modeling skills as quickly as possible - all while juggling a busy schedule. I know I'm the type of person who needs to be working consistently within a software to become fluent, and that order of operations is challenging as well.

Any specific courses, your own experience with something similar, or tips are welcome. I'm looking to significantly level up my 3D modeling by the end of the year, or at least the speed with which I work.

Hi, as the title states I’m looking for the best school that I can use my GI Bill to obtain my Bachelors degree in industrial design.

I have many years of experience designing in various formats and fields from interior design to product design but no formal education.

I currently am working on launching my own Etsy shop to sell my work but I’m still unknown and I’d like to get a job my degree in the field and work towards getting a career in the field while working on making my shop a viable source of income.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Hi all! thanks in advance for any of the guidance

I struck out using AI in asking this question, but i wanted to ask y'all:

I'm working on an idea for a residential and industrial use device, around 3-5 feet tall, and before hiring a designer, I wanted to see if AI could help me draft a prototype, with some skteches so I can maybe get a few ideas visually and use them to build pre-market waitlists and hypes for the product.

Do y'all know of any AI websites or tools that can help me design a visual prototype or sketch of the product? If not, any suggestions on where and how to find affordable/free-lance product designers/sketchers?

Can someone tell me why it's so unsettling and something feels off when you look at an Apple mouse. It just doesn't look like it aligns. Is it just me?

I'm trying to see a different variety of portfolios, from awesome projects to people that are presenting the best. Those with the best narratives etc.. so share the ones you think are the best down bellow if you'd like :)!

Hi, new here and industrial design hobbyist. I’m trying to design a toggle switch that would reveal red or green behind it like apple designs them, but snapping into space with magnets. This is the closest I can find that does this https://kickup-edc.com/products/slider-2-0 but I’m afraid that for my needs the buttons could fall too easily so trying to figure out a way to keep the buttons secure. The reason I want magnets is I’m thinking the tactile feel will be great and snappy. I’m also open to other ideas. For reference my switches will be about 1.5cm diameter. Thanks for your help.

Saw a video of the a logitech MX pen with gravity sketch where they quickly converted a sketch into a 3D view. It sounds useful to me but I want to check people's experiences with it.

Good day, I’ve kept at practicing drawing cars and I’ve come across a problem in my sketches that have felt like a huge wall I can’t get past and that’s regarding drawing the front of a car I understand how perspective drawing works but I can’t get the surfacing to be completely correct, the positioning of the lights ( of the car I mean then ) get placed wrong too many times and the bending beneath the hood is misplaced for some reason. This makes drawing modern cars or concepts quite difficult as the surfacing is what makes a car more like a car these days than a grill does ( if you get what I mean with that )

I would love some feedback on what’s best to do to fix this besides practice hard because I obviously know that.

Quick question: Does anyone know a good marker that represents copic markers in procreate ?